Connecting art and community through service-learning
Sophia Suk-Mun Law, Associate Professor, Lingnan University, Hong Kong [sophialaw@ln.edu.hk]
Keywords: Art, well-being, student impact, Service-Learning Research Scheme
Conference track: Faculty
Format: Research/Scholarly paper
Summary Art and Well Being, a programme elective offered by the Department of Visual Studies at Lingnan University, explores the impact of art and creativity on the well-being of individuals and communities. A Service-Learning Research Scheme (SLRS) was integrated into the course and a two-year research project was funded by a teaching grant in 2011 to examine the impact of service-learning on the students. The Office of Service-Learning (OSL) of Lingnan University has been running various SLRS to encourage academic staff to integrate service-learning into their credit-bearing courses. Once a course has adopted the scheme, service-learning will be integrated into the course as a kind of experiential learning component. The OSL staff will work closely with the academic staff during the course to review and evaluate the outcomes of the service-learning.
The fundamental theoretical basis of art and well-being is the intrinsic nature of art as a language written in images for communication and expression. Scholars from both the anthropology and philosophy of art find that art is innate in humans (Alland, 1977; Dissanayake, 1995; Langer, 1979). Likewise, neuroscientists have found some evidence that “empathic responses to works of art that is not purely introspective, intuitive, or metaphysical but that has a precise and definable material basis in the brain” (Freeberg & Gallese, 2007, p. 199).
The presentation will report findings of the SLRS outcomes in the year 2010/11 and illustrate how knowledge of art might help connect students’ learning to community through service-learning. The evaluation focused on qualitative measures, including students’ self-reflection from their three report presentations and reflective essays, feedback from the artists and organizations involved, and raw data of the pre and post-questionnaires designed by the Office of Service-Learning. Findings suggest that compared to non-SLRS students in tutorial discussions, SLRS students were more active in leading the discussions with actual examples of issues they encountered in running the creative workshops. This has shifted the in-class dynamics from teacher-initiative to student-initiative.
References
Alland, A., Jr. (1977). The artistic animal: An inquiry into the biological roots of art. New York, NY: Anchor Books.
Anderson, F. E. (1992). Art for all the children: Approaches to art therapy for children with disabilities. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Bateson, G. (1973). Steps to an ecology of mind. London, UK: Paladin.
Buchalter, S. (2004). A practical art therapy. London, UK: Jessica Kingsley.
Dissanayake, E. (1992). Art for life’s sake. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association,9(4), 169–175.
Dissanayake, E. (1995). Homo aestheticus. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.
Edwards, M. (2001). Jungian analytic art therapy. In J. A. Rubin (Ed.), Approaches to art therapy - Theory and technique (pp. 8194). Ann Arbor, MI: Sheridan Books.
Freeberg, D., & Gallese, V. (2007). Motion, emotion and empathy in aesthetic experience. Trends in Cognitive Science, 11(5), 197–203.
Frith, C., & Law, J. (1995). Cognitive and physiological processes underlying drawing skills. Leonardo, 28(3), 203–205.
Gardner, H. (1982). Art, mind and brain: A cognitive approach to creativity. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Gillinsky, A. S. (1984). Mind and brain: Principles of neuropsychology. New York, NY: Praeger.
Kalmanowitz, D., & Lloyd, B. (2005). Art therapy and political violence: With art without illusion. London, UK: Routledge.
Langer, S. K. (1979). Philosophy in a new key: A study of the symbolism of reason, rite, and art. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Langer, S. K. (1982). Mind: An essay on human feeling. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Naumburg, M. (1973). An introduction to art therapy: Studies of the “free” art expression of behaviour problem children and adolescents as a means of diagnosis and therapy. New York, NY: Teachers College Press (Original work published 1947).
Newman, F. (1985). Higher education and the American resurgence. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Seifer, S. D., & Connors, K. (2007). Faculty toolkit for service-learning in higher education. Scotts Valley, CA: National Service-learning Clearinghouse.
Silver, R. (2001). Art as language. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner-Routledge.
van der Kolk, B. A. (2006). Clinical implications of neuroscience research in PTSD. Annals of the NewYork Academy of Sciences,1071, 277–293.
Woodrow, W. (1902). Princeton in the nation’s service. The Popular Science Monthly, July, 267–271.
Xing, J., & Ma, C. H. K. (2009). Service-learning in Asia. Hong Kong, China: Hong Kong University Press.
To access materials from this session please click on the file link(s) below:
.
Connecting art and community through service-learning
Sophia Suk-Mun Law, Associate Professor, Lingnan University, Hong Kong [sophialaw@ln.edu.hk]
Keywords: Art, well-being, student impact, Service-Learning Research Scheme
Conference track: Faculty
Format: Research/Scholarly paper
Summary
Art and Well Being, a programme elective offered by the Department of Visual Studies at Lingnan University, explores the impact of art and creativity on the well-being of individuals and communities. A Service-Learning Research Scheme (SLRS) was integrated into the course and a two-year research project was funded by a teaching grant in 2011 to examine the impact of service-learning on the students. The Office of Service-Learning (OSL) of Lingnan University has been running various SLRS to encourage academic staff to integrate service-learning into their credit-bearing courses. Once a course has adopted the scheme, service-learning will be integrated into the course as a kind of experiential learning component. The OSL staff will work closely with the academic staff during the course to review and evaluate the outcomes of the service-learning.
The fundamental theoretical basis of art and well-being is the intrinsic nature of art as a language written in images for communication and expression. Scholars from both the anthropology and philosophy of art find that art is innate in humans (Alland, 1977; Dissanayake, 1995; Langer, 1979). Likewise, neuroscientists have found some evidence that “empathic responses to works of art that is not purely introspective, intuitive, or metaphysical but that has a precise and definable material basis in the brain” (Freeberg & Gallese, 2007, p. 199).
The presentation will report findings of the SLRS outcomes in the year 2010/11 and illustrate how knowledge of art might help connect students’ learning to community through service-learning. The evaluation focused on qualitative measures, including students’ self-reflection from their three report presentations and reflective essays, feedback from the artists and organizations involved, and raw data of the pre and post-questionnaires designed by the Office of Service-Learning. Findings suggest that compared to non-SLRS students in tutorial discussions, SLRS students were more active in leading the discussions with actual examples of issues they encountered in running the creative workshops. This has shifted the in-class dynamics from teacher-initiative to student-initiative.
References
Alland, A., Jr. (1977). The artistic animal: An inquiry into the biological roots of art. New York, NY: Anchor Books.
Anderson, F. E. (1992). Art for all the children: Approaches to art therapy for children with disabilities. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Bateson, G. (1973). Steps to an ecology of mind. London, UK: Paladin.
Buchalter, S. (2004). A practical art therapy. London, UK: Jessica Kingsley.
Dissanayake, E. (1992). Art for life’s sake. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 9(4), 169–175.
Dissanayake, E. (1995). Homo aestheticus. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.
Edwards, M. (2001). Jungian analytic art therapy. In J. A. Rubin (Ed.), Approaches to art therapy - Theory and technique (pp. 8194). Ann Arbor, MI: Sheridan Books.
Freeberg, D., & Gallese, V. (2007). Motion, emotion and empathy in aesthetic experience. Trends in Cognitive Science, 11(5), 197–203.
Frith, C., & Law, J. (1995). Cognitive and physiological processes underlying drawing skills. Leonardo, 28(3), 203–205.
Gardner, H. (1982). Art, mind and brain: A cognitive approach to creativity. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Gillinsky, A. S. (1984). Mind and brain: Principles of neuropsychology. New York, NY: Praeger.
Kalmanowitz, D., & Lloyd, B. (2005). Art therapy and political violence: With art without illusion. London, UK: Routledge.
Langer, S. K. (1979). Philosophy in a new key: A study of the symbolism of reason, rite, and art. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Langer, S. K. (1982). Mind: An essay on human feeling. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Naumburg, M. (1973). An introduction to art therapy: Studies of the “free” art expression of behaviour problem children and adolescents as a means of diagnosis and therapy. New York, NY: Teachers College Press (Original work published 1947).
Newman, F. (1985). Higher education and the American resurgence. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Seifer, S. D., & Connors, K. (2007). Faculty toolkit for service-learning in higher education. Scotts Valley, CA: National Service-learning Clearinghouse.
Silver, R. (2001). Art as language. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner-Routledge.
van der Kolk, B. A. (2006). Clinical implications of neuroscience research in PTSD. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1071, 277–293.
Woodrow, W. (1902). Princeton in the nation’s service. The Popular Science Monthly, July, 267–271.
Xing, J., & Ma, C. H. K. (2009). Service-learning in Asia. Hong Kong, China: Hong Kong University Press.
To access materials from this session please click on the file link(s) below: